Energis lurches back into the black

Archie Normans rescue team is set to report a profit at the fallen telecoms company. Report by Paul Durman

ENERGIS, the fallen star of the British telecoms industry, will next week report a profit — just two years after it lurched spectacularly into insolvency.

This is one sign of the progress made under the rescue team headed by Archie Norman MP, the former Asda boss, and John Pluthero, who once ran Freeserve. But it is not the only sign.

As evidence of the new culture, Pluthero points to the company’s reaction to the recent fire in a BT tunnel which cut 130,000 phone lines in Greater Manchester. Many retailers and firms faced days of disruption as they lost the use of their e-mail and credit-card facilities.

“BT reacted in the way that BT does,” said Pluthero. “They said ‘We are not going to tell you very much. Let us get on and try and fix it.’